- Brian Shaw is also being coveted by the Grizzlies and the Nets, from Ramona Shelburne of ESPN: “The Indiana Pacers season ended Monday night. It took less than 24 hours for associate head coach Brian Shaw to become a serious candidate for both the Los Angeles Clippersand Brooklyn Nets vacancies, sources told ESPN. The Clippers have officially asked for and been granted permission to speak with Shaw andMemphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins, a source with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday night.”
- Stephen Jackson said that he could not accept the idea of Danny Green and Manu Ginobili being better than him as a player, from Buck Harvey of Express-News: “And after Popovich released him just days before the regular season ended, Jackson posted this on Instagram: “I would never say a player is better than me when I know their (sic) not. Not for no one. #uandiknowwhatsgoingon” Tuesday he revealed who he was talking about: Danny Green and Manu Ginobili. Jackson insists Popovich wanted him to admit Green and Ginobili were better. More than likely, Popovich simply told Jackson they were better. That’s why they were playing instead of him. Pride wouldn’t let Jackson accept that, and he admitted as much Tuesday. After showing the initial flash of anger when talking about Popovich, he later said Popovich knows him well, and that the release “was best for me so I wouldn’t go crazy.” Or, as Jackson said Tuesday, again smiling, “I wouldn’t want me on the team, either.”
- Sergey Karasev may have been given a guarantee of a first-round pick by an NBA team, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports: “Sergey Karasev has returned to Moscow until the NBA draft in late June, fueling speculation among front-office executives that a team has given the Russian teen star a strong first-round guarantee, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Karasev’s representatives, Andy Miller and Justin Zanik, began to inform teams on Tuesday that Karasev, a sharp-shooting 6-foot-7 forward, will not be made available for any private workouts prior to the June 27 draft, league sources said.”
- Jason Terry was apparently not healthy down the stretch of the season, from Mark Murphy of Boston Herald: “The Celtics guard, who tweeted a picture of himself running on a treadmill in the Celtics’ Waltham practice facility today, had an arthoscopic procedure to remove the plica from his left knee. The plica is described as an extension of the protective synovial capsule of the knee, and can become irritated, enlarged, or inflamed if caught between the patella and the femur. “I saw him today, and he looked great,” said Celtics president Danny Ainge. “He’s doing really well.” Asked if the condition might have contributed to Terry’s late-season performance, Ainge said, “I’m sure it was bothering him.”
- Asked to name his all-time starting five, Karl Malone included Scottie Pippen while leaving out Michael Jordan, from Larry Brown Sports: “During an interview with “The Dan Patrick Show” on Monday, Malone spoke about LeBron James and some of the greatest players who have ever played the game. When asked to name his all-time starting five, Malone took John Stockton and Oscar Robertson as his guards, Wilt Chamberlain at center, LeBron at power forward and Scottie Pippen at small forward. Pippen and no Jordan — really? “Scottie Pippen led the team in every statistical category while he was there without Michael Jordan,” Malone explained. “That’s why I have to put him there. So now you know.”
- Rob Mahoney of SI explains how Malone’s comments were taken out of context: “If one had only seen or heard that particular segment of Malone’s interview, it’s conceivable that his comments could be taken on face value. But as Malone noted Wednesday on Twitter in response to the backlash, it all comes as an extended gag on Patrick, who had brought up Jordan’s name repeatedly earlier in the interview. This isn’t a former player covering for a gaffe, but a legitimate oversight on the part of those who took Malone’s sound bite and ran with it. To more fully understand the context of the interview, one needs to listen to Malone’s appearance in full — and can through Patrick’s website.”
- Phil Jackson may be predicting the Spurs to win the Finals, based on the quick answer he gave during his latest book signing:
- DeMarcus Cousins has reportedly been invited to USA Basketball’s minicamp, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports: “The USA Basketball chairman said Cousins had “some growing up to do” when he was a member of a select team practicing against USA Basketball’s Olympic team last summer. Cousins took offense to those comments and asked Colangelo about them. After much debate among USA Basketball executives, a source said, Cousins, 22, was extended an invite to take part in the minicamp with a chance to land a spot on Team USA. “You bury the past and go forward,” Colangelo said. “He’s invited and he’s definitely on the list. New year, new summer, new opportunity.”
- The Heat are heavily favored over the San Antonio Spurs, from SLAMOnline: “Coming into the 2012-13 season, the Miami Heat were the heavy favorites to win the NBA championship. That didn’t change once the postseason began, and the story remains the same with the title now on the line. The oddsmakers have the Heat taking the NBA Finals over the San Antonio Spurs, in relatively easy fashion. LeBron James, not too surprisingly, is the heavy favorite to win the MVP of the title round. Per the Express-News: “Miami is strongly favored to defeat the Spurs and defend its NBA title, according to online betting site Bovada.lv. The Heat are -240, meaning a $240 bet would be required to win $100 should they take the series. The Spurs are +200, earning $200 for a $100 bet.”
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Jerry25 says
Re: Dwight. He is probably counting down the days left to stay away from Kobe. Maybe he finds another place to go fishing.
Re: Hollins. An updated tweet by David Aldridge states that Nets need only ask and they will be granted permission to speak with Hollins. Apparently ESPN screwed up with the initial story that Nets asked for permission to speak with Hollins on Monday, AM, June 3, just 1 day after Memphis reportedly gave teams permission to speak with him.
“If Nets ask 2 interview Hollins, they’ll get OK, per sources. MEM had rejected all requests before officially giving Hollins permission Sun.”
Broussard further screwed up by confirming the Tillery tweet rather than getting the story straight. Nets had actually asked permission to speak to Hollins (and were denied) on May 28, 4 days before the Grizz finished discussions with Hollins.
Nets are probably waiting for Hollins to realize he won’t get the Clippers position, and demonstrate interest in the Nets position. Nets of course can outbid any team, but also may be the best destination, in an easier Eastern Conference.
If Shaw goes to LAC (he wants to return to LA), then all that would be needed for Nets to lock up Hollins, is for him to explain some of the complaints cropping up about Hollins being too rigid with players and listening to advice from front office. The Nets players have said they want a Veteran coach who is tough.